Printer&#39;s composing-stick.



No. 868,676. PATENTEDOCT. 22, 1907;

M. J. LYNCH.

PRINTER'S OOMPOSINGISTIGK, APPLICATION nun 11110.5, 1906.

wrwJLy/M/Z;

Q Vihwoou Tn: mama: PETIRS cm, WAsIHNGToN, n. 5.

M w m MORRIS .T. LYNCH, OF OTTAWA, KANSAS.

PRINTERS COMPOSING-STICK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 22, 1907.

Application filed December a, 1906. Serial No. 346,456.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownithat I, MORRIS .l. LYNCH, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Ottawa, in the county of Franklin and State of Kansas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Printers Composing- Sticks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to printers composing sticks, the object thereof being to provide a novel construction of composing stick especially designed for the use and convenience of printers in assembling the various sizes and lengths of metal rule, border, leads, slugs, furniture or reglet to set same for any job or make-up, being especially adapted to save time in selecting the elements mentioned for use in composition work particularly where the job or make-up is disposed at some distance from the cases containing the elements referred to.

The main object of the invention resides in the production of a composing stick which will admit of the convenient assemblage of the leads, etc. of any sizes or lengths within determined measurements, and of their proper arrangement according to length or size, so that they may be readily and quickly removed for use as oc casion requires.

A further object is to provide a composing stick which is reversible to face in either direction, and may be employed as a gage or rule for measuring fillers of the type referred to or measuring any standard of type by the point system of type measurement.

The accompanying drawing shows a perspective view of a composing stick embodying my invention.

Referring to the drawing, 1 designates the body of the stick, which comprises a strip of brass or any other suitable metal bent longitudinally along a medial line into L-form to provide assembling walls 2 and 3, arranged at right angles to each other. Disposed at one end of the body is a preferably wooden handle 4 having a butt por tion 5 fitting over upon the adjacent ends of the walls and secured thereto by suitable fastenings. The butt is preferably of polygonal form, or so shaped as to present two sides lying at I, right angles to bear snugly against the walls 2 and 3. A plate 6 covers the inner end of the handle butt 5 and forms an end wall or abutment for the stick against which the rule, leads, slugs or other matter assembled therein ma y bear.

The stick as thus constructed is reversible so that it may be turned to face in either direction for the convenience of the compositor, and so that either wall 2 or 3 may serve as the base and the other as the back plate of the stick. The inner faces of both walls are provided with sets of graduations having lines or indicating marks 7, 8 and 9. The lines 7 form a pica scale, which range six to the inch, the scale preferably having a range of twelve inches or seventy-two lines pica. The lines 8 are shorter than the lines 7 and disposed between the same and constitute a nonpareil scale, measuring up to 144 lines nonpareil. Each sixth line of the pica scale is extended to form the lines 9, which lines constitute inch divisions of an ordinary linear measurement foot rule. By thisnovel arrangement of'the scale indications the leads, rule, etc., of any length up to and includingseventy-two pica lines or 144 nonpareil lines may be assembled in proper order for the convenience of the compositor, thus enabling him to quickly select the length or width of rule, border, slug or other spacing element for use in setting up the job. The elements needed may, therefore, be stored in the stick at the point where the composition is being carried out, which may be a considerable distance from the rule and slug cases, thus effecting economy in time and labor in the operation.

The stick may also be used as a gage for measuring off rule, furniture and the like to be cut to suitable lengths, and for other general purposes.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is

1. A printers composing stick comprising a body having assembling walls coextensive in length and width and arranged at right angles to each other, said walls being provided with pica and nonpareil scales, and a handle having a butt portion fitting over upon and secured to the walls at one end of the body and forming an abutment at that end.

2. A reversible printers composing stick comprising an elongated sheet-metal strip bent into Liorm to provide assembling Walls coextensive in length and width, said Walls being provided with graduations on corresponding lines forming pica and nonpareil scales, and a handle disposed at one end of the body and having a butt portion titted over upon and secured to the adjacent walls, said handle having sides parallel to and bearing snugly against said walls.

3. A reversible printer's composing stick comprising an elongated sheet-metal strip bent into L-form to provide assembling walls coextensive in length and width, said walls being provided with graduations 011 corresponding lines forming pica and nonpareil scales, a wooden handle disposed at one end of the body and having a butt portion fitted over upon and secured to the adjacent walls, said handle havingsides parallel to and bearing snugly against said walls, and an abutment plate covering and seculedto the butt of the handle and bearing against said walls.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

, MORRIS .I. LYNCH.

Witnesses LILLIE DowNnY, E. M. ANGELL. 

